Small Boutique Hotels in Florence
 

Hi all!

A friend and I are going to be in Florence for 4 days in September. I wanted to see if anyone of you travelers had recommendations on hotels in Florence. I'm really looking for smaller Boutique or Pensione type hotels that are a great location (walking distance of all the main sites) and have charm rather than a larger type of establishment. I'm looking to spend around 200 euros or less per night. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Charlie

Try www.venere.com to start with.

You can filter by Inns and B&Bs, as well as location. They list a total of about 650 places for lodging in Florence.

The last time we visited Florence, in 2009, we stayed at Casa dei Tintori, http://www.casadeitintori.it/en/. It's a lovely, old building with beautiful rooms and delightful owners. It's not a boutique hotel, but it's wonderful just the same, and within your price range.

hi archie,

I stayed here:http://www.residenzacasanuova.it/

it is as lovely as it looks in the pictures, and very convenient for the main sights - 10 mins to the Duomo - though in a quiet and less touristy area. the host and hostess are great and Beatrice does a tour of the local market ending in lunch that I can heartily recommend.

my single room was a good size, the bathroom more than adequate, and you get a [free] stocked minibar and wifi, plus a lovely view from the balcony.

if you click on my screen name and look for my italian trip report, you can scroll through to the end for the part about my stay in Florence last year.

My favorite in Florence for a lovely, boutique hotel:

Antica Torre di Via Tornabuoni n.1
via Tornabuoni n.1
50122 Firenze
tel +39 055 2658161
fax +39 055 218841
[email protected]
www.tornabuoni1.com

looks lovely kfusto, but I am always wary of places that don't tell you what their rates are.

How much did you pay?

about 200E for the least expensive rooms, which are huge and lovely. Not sure about your dates but worth an email to them to check.

I also like the Pierre, a small, family run hotel on the Arno.

And if you do not mind being a bit out of the center, Rosary Garden is lovely and a bargain.

Try the Relais Cavalcanti. I wrote a trip report from our visit there, which was in 2006.

Just noticed you said you'd be there last month. Oh, well, here are my notes, anyway:


"We took a short cab ride to the Relais Cavalcanti. a very charming little 'hotel', at Via Pellicceria, 2. It occupies one floor of a building located near the Uffizi gallery, in a very good central location. Because my daughter had just finished her semester in Florence, she was able to recommend her favorite location in town for lodging.

The Relais Cavalcanti building has been in the same family's ownership for 100+ years, the owner/manager of the new-ish Relais is Francesca. She said she inherited this one floor of the building, so she recently renovated it to create a little hotel. It's relatively new, with beautiful tile bathrooms, showers, etc. The rooms are very charming, and good-sized. It was 120 EUR for our double/twin, with private bath, which included a 10 EUR upgrade for the better view. Francesca did provide a 5 percent discount for payment in cash.

You have the feeling of entering a very nice, private Italian home, when you unlock the Relais door and smell the potpourri set out on the beautiful tables in the hallway and entry way. It has a small elevator and a/c, too. No breakfast is served, but even better I think is that they have a beautiful little dining room/kitchen that is open 24/7 for guests. You have always available the makings for coffee, hot chocolate and tea, plus containers of pre-wrapped pastries and dessert cakes. That's about as much as you get in any Italian B&B for breakfast, and this way you can serve yourself whenever. And our room did have a mini-fridge.

One evening we bought wine, cheese, bread, and fruit and enjoyed our own private time in this beautiful room. The only thing to be aware of at Relais Cavalcanti is that the first floor of the building is the Old Stove Irish pub. The good news is that it's a decent little place for panini, and has free wi-fi. However, it attracts a lot of students and young people, so it is quite noisy into the early morning hours. Our room window was directly above the pub's patio, with a nice view of adjoining rooftops. The double windows, plus the wooden shutters, can block out about 90 percent of the noise from the pub below. I found that I could also turn on the a/c fan in our room, which would then totally cover any outside noise.

Francesca also cautions her prospective guests that she does not staff a 24/7 front desk. She is there during posted hours, mostly till 6 p.m., and has an emergency number on the door. But she is careful to tell guests that hers is not a hotel with full-services at night-time. I highly recommend the Relais Cavalcanti."